カーゾック Behind NICOPA: From Rooftop Amusement Parks to A Nagoya-Based Operator of Family Arcades in Shopping Centers Across Japan | Photo Sticker Booth Industry Research

Summary

NICOPA（ニコパ）is a family arcade chain operated by 株式会社カーゾック（KARZOC Inc.）, with most locations inside shopping centers and large retail stores such as イズミヤ, AEON group properties, アピタ, and 島忠ホームズ. The company officially defines it as a family entertainment facility centered on claw machines, medal games, and photo sticker booths（プリントシール機）, primarily serving families with children.

カーゾック was founded in April 1971 after an opportunity to repair a carousel, initially under the name 東海ランド設備サービス. That same year, it opened its first location inside ジャスコ津店 in Mie Prefecture. It changed its name to 東海ランド in 1975, moved its headquarters to Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, in 1997, and adopted the name カーゾック in August 2017. On January 20, 2026, it announced that its headquarters would move to Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, effective February 1.

The company has capital of ¥50 million, revenue of ¥6.05 billion for the fiscal year ended May 2026, and 798 employees, including 701 part-time staff. Revenue grew for four consecutive years from ¥4.415 billion in the fiscal year ended May 2022, averaging approximately 8.2% annually. No profit figures were found on the official website or in its press releases. In March 2026, it acquired POS and business systems provider 近畿総合システム販売 as a wholly owned subsidiary. An August 2026 press release set out a goal of becoming a “100-year, ¥10 billion company.” The official website contains no stock listing information and identifies no parent company.

The official location directory listed 56 locations when checked on September 24, 2026. An individual count on September 25 identified 50 arcades, two kiond experiential facilities, and four tutoring centers. Of the 50 arcades, 29 displayed an icon indicating photo sticker booths. As of September 25, 2026, photobooth.joelin.cc listed 30 NICOPA branches in Japan with photo sticker booths, based on manufacturers’ official installation-location data and reconciled against the company’s official location directory. These branches do not fully overlap with the locations marked by icons on the official website.

nico ground is カーゾック’s combined-format indoor playground business. It is unrelated to photo sticker photography and is not a photo sticker sub-brand. No official information was found on costume rentals, makeup stations, curling irons, changing rooms, app discounts specifically for photo sticker booths, or rules for men entering alone. The official app offers a membership card, points collection, and coupons.

Key facts

• NICOPA is operated by 株式会社カーゾック（KARZOC Inc.）, headquartered in Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.
• カーゾック was founded on April 22, 1971, after an opportunity to repair a carousel. It was initially named 東海ランド設備サービス and opened its first location inside ジャスコ津店 in Mie Prefecture that same year.
• In 1975, it changed its name to 東海ランド and moved its headquarters to Nishi Ward, Nagoya. In 1997, it moved its headquarters to Suzuka, Mie Prefecture. In August 2017, it changed its name to カーゾック.
• On January 20, 2026, it announced that its headquarters would move from Suzuka to Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, effective February 1, citing business expansion and a need to strengthen its sales capabilities.
• Capital: ¥50 million. Revenue for the fiscal year ended May 2026: ¥6.05 billion. Employees: 798, including 701 part-time staff, as of June 26, 2026.
• No stock listing information or securities code was found in the official company profile, which also identifies no parent company.
• Revenue published in successive versions of the official website was ¥4.415 billion for the fiscal year ended May 2022, ¥4.76 billion for May 2023, ¥5.18 billion for May 2024, ¥5.62 billion for May 2025, and ¥6.05 billion for May 2026. No profit figures were found.
• For the fiscal year ended May 2020, カーゾック reported revenue of ¥3.107 billion and affiliated company ファンクエスト reported ¥1.105 billion. The two companies merged in June 2021.
• On March 24, 2026, カーゾック acquired all shares of 近畿総合システム販売 in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. The company provides business software and POS systems and has eight employees.
• An August 31, 2026, press release stated the goal of “striving to become a 100-year, ¥10 billion company that makes families happy.”
• The official location directory listed 56 locations when checked on September 24, 2026. An individual count on September 25 identified 50 arcades, two kiond experiential facilities, and four tutoring centers.
• Of the 50 arcades in the official location directory, 29 displayed an icon indicating photo sticker booths when checked on September 25, 2026.
• As of September 25, 2026, photobooth.joelin.cc listed 30 NICOPA branches with photo sticker booths in Japan, with 60 machine-model records across 10 prefectures. This is the number of branches listed on this site, not the company’s total location count.
• nico ground is カーゾック’s combined-format indoor playground business. It is unrelated to photo sticker photography and is not a photo sticker sub-brand.
• No information on NICOPA costume rentals, makeup stations, curling irons, or changing rooms was found in official materials.

The original Chinese article was published on September 25, 2026. The research and market figures below reflect the September 24–25, 2026, snapshot.

NICOPA（ニコパ）is a family arcade chain operated by 株式会社カーゾック, with locations inside shopping centers and large retail stores. Its main customers are families with children, rather than young people visiting specifically to take photo stickers. Photo sticker booths are one type of machine in these arcades, alongside claw machines and medal games. The photo sticker booth database I maintain lists 30 NICOPA branches in Japan with photo sticker booths. This article examines the company behind those 30 locations.

The company began in 1971 by repairing carousels at rooftop amusement parks. In February 2026, it moved its headquarters from Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, to Nagoya. Its official website contains no stock listing information, identifies no parent company, and reveals no photo sticker brand under its umbrella. These points make it a relatively unusual operator in the overview of ten Japanese photo sticker booth arcade chains.

What kind of company is カーゾック?

Unless otherwise noted, the information above comes from the company profile and history pages on カーゾック’s official website, checked September 25, 2026. The final two rows deserve particular attention: most of the ten arcade chains are backed by listed companies or large corporate groups, while カーゾック’s website lists neither stock listing information nor a parent company. This article makes no assumptions about either. Revenue was ¥6.05 billion, and 701 of its 798 employees were part-time staff.

The official website states its corporate philosophy as “家族の大切な一瞬を、笑顔に、幸せに。”—“Turning precious family moments into smiles and happiness.” From store design to the services discussed later, the entire company revolves around the word “family.”

From carousel repairs to shopping centers: 55 years of development

This timeline can be read in three phases. The first was the rooftop amusement park era: the company’s story page says, “1971年、はじまりは屋上遊園地で。”—“1971: it began at a rooftop amusement park.” Its starting point was maintaining and operating rooftop amusement parks. The second phase was moving indoors alongside large retail stores: its first location opened inside ジャスコ津店, a store belonging to the predecessor of today’s AEON, and its headquarters remained in the Tokai region for a long time afterward. The third phase began with the 2017 name change, as the business expanded into experiential facilities and education. Even so, arcades inside shopping centers still account for the largest number of locations: 50 of the 56 listed on the official website.

Why move the headquarters to Nagoya?

In its January 2026 press release, the company explained that new openings and the scope of businesses such as NICOPA were expanding, requiring it to reorganize its locations. It gave three reasons for choosing Nagoya:

• Nagoya offers convenient access to both Tokyo and Osaka, making it easier to meet partners in major metropolitan areas and develop new locations.
• Nagoya has a larger recruitment market than Suzuka, helping the company strengthen its staffing.
• The company already had an office in Nagoya; the move expanded that existing office into its headquarters.

Suzuka was not closed down. The official company profile still lists a Suzuka office and a distribution center.

Its first acquisition in 2026

The next step after moving its headquarters was an acquisition. In an April 2026 press release, カーゾック announced that it had acquired all shares of 近畿総合システム販売 in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on March 24, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. Founded in 2000, the acquired company has eight employees and provides business software, POS checkout systems, and network installation.

カーゾック explained that the purpose was to have this subsidiary support hardware procurement and maintenance, networks, and business systems across all its facilities. The press release also stated that it would “continue pursuing an active growth strategy, including mergers and acquisitions.” NICOPA’s official business page already names an “IT management system” as the reason it can rotate prizes every two to three weeks, as discussed in the next section. The publicly stated rationale for this acquisition likewise centers on IT.

Revenue and profit: approximately 50% growth over five years, with no public profit figures

カーゾック is not publicly listed and is not required to publish financial statements, but it updates its revenue once a year in the company profile on its official website. Putting successive versions side by side, some retrieved from web archives, reveals the company’s trajectory in recent years.

This table needs to be read in two parts. The jump in the fiscal year ended May 2022 mainly resulted from the merger: in the preceding year, カーゾック and ファンクエスト had combined revenue of ¥4.053 billion, compared with ¥4.415 billion in the first year after the merger, representing actual growth of approximately 9%. Following the merger, revenue rose steadily from ¥4.415 billion in the fiscal year ended May 2022 to ¥6.05 billion in the fiscal year ended May 2026. That was an increase of approximately 37% over four years, averaging about 8.2% annually, with revenue higher every year than in the previous year.

Over the same broader period, employee numbers rose from 509 at the end of May 2020 to 798 in June 2026. The official “Get to Know the Company” page reported 43 locations in June 2021 and 55 in December 2025. The scope of those figures follows the page as it appeared at the time; tutoring centers have been included since 2023.

As for profitability, no operating profit or net profit figures were found within this article’s research scope—the official website and PR TIMES press releases. It is therefore currently impossible to determine whether the company is profitable or how much it earns.

The company’s own goal appears in its August 31, 2026, press release: at the 55-year mark since its founding, it aims to become a “『家族を幸せにする』100年100億円企業”—a company that makes families happy, lasts 100 years, and generates ¥10 billion in revenue. Simply extrapolating the approximately 8.2% average annual growth rate of the preceding four years would put revenue above ¥10 billion around the fiscal year ending May 2033. This is arithmetic, not a forecast or a timetable announced by the company.

What kind of arcade is NICOPA?

NICOPA 神戸玉津店 in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, inside イズミヤ神戸玉津店. Image: 株式会社カーゾック, PR TIMES press kit.

The official website describes NICOPA as a family entertainment facility centered on claw machines, medal games, and photo sticker booths（プリントシール機）. In the company’s own definition, photo sticker booths are therefore one of three main machine categories, rather than an optional feature tucked into a corner.

Almost all the operating features listed by the company are designed with families and children in mind:

• Staff proactively teach customers how to use claw machines and offer tips. The company says this is relatively uncommon at other arcades.
• Most prizes are rotated approximately every two to three weeks, supported by the company’s own IT management system.
• Layouts and spaces are designed with stroller access in mind, with bright lighting and a relatively quiet environment.
• Staff patrol the floor and greet children playing alone at the children’s eye level. Some machines are original designs built lower to suit children’s sightlines.

NICOPA’s official promotional image features a family rather than a group of young friends. Image: 株式会社カーゾック, PR TIMES press kit. Official image title: “Promotional image of the family entertainment facility NICOPA.”

Store locations also reveal its customer base. In the official location directory, most NICOPA branches are inside large retail stores and shopping centers such as イズミヤ, AEON group shopping centers（イオンモール, イオンタウン, and そよら）, アピタ, 島忠ホームズ, and MEGAドン・キホーテ. In its press releases, the company describes itself as opening locations in shopping centers across the Tokyo–Nagoya–Osaka area. The 30 branches listed on this site are also spread across 10 prefectures: Osaka, Aichi, Mie, Chiba, Tokyo, Hyogo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Nara, and Wakayama.

nico ground is not a photo sticker brand

The frequently seen store name “NICOPA & nico ground” means that two business formats share a location; it does not refer to a dedicated photo sticker area. nico ground is カーゾック’s combined-format indoor playground business. Its official offering emphasizes cardboard and wooden play equipment, with equipment replaced regularly. It provides indoor play spaces for children and has no connection to photo sticker photography.

The nico ground area at NICOPA & nico ground イーアス高尾店 features wooden play equipment, a slide, and a ball pit. No arcade machines are visible in the photograph. Image: 株式会社カーゾック, PR TIMES press kit.

An official promotional image of nico ground. The ramp in the foreground is the cardboard play equipment highlighted in the company’s offering. Image: 株式会社カーゾック, PR TIMES press kit. Official image title: “Promotional image of the combined-format indoor playground nico ground.”

In the company’s business classification, NICOPA falls under the “family amusement business,” while nico ground falls under the “combined-format indoor playground business.” They are separate business lines.

Photo sticker booths at NICOPA: what three different numbers measure

Three different numbers appear when discussing NICOPA and photo sticker booths. They measure three different things and cannot be added to or subtracted from one another.

The first number, 56, covers all of the company’s locations, a broader scope than arcades alone. An individual count on September 25, 2026, identified 50 arcades: 37 named NICOPA, 10 named NICOPA & nico ground, and three using other names, such as カラフルパーク聖蹟桜ヶ丘店. The remaining locations were two kiond experiential facilities and four tutoring centers.

The second number, 29, comes from the official website’s own indicators. Beneath each store entry, the official location directory uses icons to show the available machine types and facilities. One of these is the photo sticker booth icon. This is the most direct official source for checking photo sticker booth availability, but it only indicates whether they are present; it does not list machine models.

The third number, 30, is this site’s listing count. It is based on installation-location data officially published by photo sticker booth manufacturers, with each location checked before inclusion, for a total of 60 machine-model records. On September 25, 2026, this site reconciled its entries against the company’s official location directory and added five branches, increasing the count from 25 to 30. Because the underlying source differs from the official website’s icons, the two lists do not fully overlap: some branches included here on the basis of manufacturer data do not display an icon on the company website, while some branches displaying an official icon have not yet been included here. If you are making a special trip to take photo stickers, rely on the official store page and the actual on-site situation.

Services related to photo stickers: what is available and what was not found

The following is based on official information checked September 24, 2026. Prices and opening hours vary by location and may change, so this article does not list figures.

The upper part of this table concerns what photo sticker enthusiasts care about, while the lower part concerns parents bringing children. NICOPA’s official website devotes its effort to marking the latter facilities at each location. The facility icons in its location directory show diaper-changing stations, nursing rooms, stroller parking, and rest areas, rather than makeup stations or costume rentals. This is not a question of better or worse service; families are simply its intended customers.

For stores where you can rent clothing for photos, this site also maintains a list of costume photo sticker venues in Japan. NICOPA is not currently included.

Putting NICOPA back into the ten-chain comparison

The overview of ten Japanese photo sticker booth arcade chains divides Japan’s photo sticker industry into three layers: manufacturers make the machines（FURYU and SEGA）, arcade operators place them in arcades, and brands open specialist stores devoted exclusively to photo stickers. NICOPA belongs to the arcade-operator layer, where photo sticker booths are one type of machine among others.

Compared with several other arcade chains, NICOPA differs in three ways:

• No listed-group backing was found for NICOPA. Most of the ten chains are backed by listed companies or large groups, such as GENDA behind GiGO, バンダイナムコ behind namco, and AEON behind モーリーファンタジー. カーゾック’s official website contains no stock listing information and identifies no parent company.
• No photo sticker sub-brand was found under NICOPA. タイトー has brooming and バンダイナムコ has eggnam, but no comparable photo sticker brand was found under NICOPA. nico ground is an indoor playground, not a photo sticker brand.
• カーゾック itself lists photo sticker booths among its main machine categories. モーリーファンタジー also operates in shopping centers and targets families, but its official brand page does not list photo sticker booths among its representative facilities. NICOPA’s official business page, by contrast, identifies photo sticker booths alongside claw machines and medal games as central offerings.

On the other hand, like モーリーファンタジー and 楽市楽座, NICOPA belongs to the category of operators that open inside shopping centers and follow their customer traffic. Photo sticker services requiring staff and space, such as costume rentals, were not found in the official materials for this category of arcade operator. This aligns with the observation in the overview article: how much extra effort an operator is willing to devote to photo stickers is closely related to who its customers are.

To explore where the photo sticker machines themselves come from, read the FURYU company study on the manufacturer layer. The industry’s full history in Japan, from 1995 to the present, is covered in Thirty Years of Japan’s Photo Sticker Booth Industry. The broader article comparing Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan is the photo sticker industry overview.

Related reading

• More Than 40% of Japan’s Photo Sticker Booths Are in Arcades: The Three Layers of Manufacturers, Arcade Operators, and Brands, and the Parent Companies of Ten Chains—the series overview, with the ten arcade chains and their parent companies in one table.
• Thirty Years of Japan’s Photo Sticker Booths: From Print Club to FURYU’s Dominance, Then to an IP Company—the main article on the history of Japan’s photo sticker industry.
• The Transformation of FURYU, Japan’s Leading Photo Sticker Booth Manufacturer—financial results and transformation at the manufacturer layer.
• A Report on the Development History of Taiwan’s Photo Sticker Booth and Korean-Style Photo Booth Industries—the broader photo sticker industry article.
• NICOPA Branches in Japan with Photo Sticker Booths—machine models and addresses listed individually for 30 branches.

FAQ

Which company operates NICOPA?

NICOPA is operated by 株式会社カーゾック（KARZOC Inc.）, headquartered in Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. The company was founded in 1971 under the name 東海ランド設備サービス, changed its name to カーゾック in 2017, and moved its headquarters from Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, to Nagoya in February 2026. No stock listing information was found on its official website, which also identifies no parent company.

How much revenue does カーゾック generate? Is it profitable?

The official website reports revenue of ¥6.05 billion for the fiscal year ended May 2026, compared with ¥4.415 billion for the fiscal year ended May 2022. Revenue grew for four consecutive years, averaging approximately 8.2% annually. No stock listing information was found on カーゾック’s official website, and neither the website nor its press releases publish operating profit or net profit figures. Its profitability therefore could not be established.

Does NICOPA have photo sticker booths?

Most branches do, but not all. カーゾック officially defines NICOPA as a family entertainment facility centered on claw machines, medal games, and photo sticker booths. Its location directory uses icons to indicate whether each store has photo sticker booths; when checked on September 25, 2026, 29 of the 50 arcades displayed this icon. Separately, photobooth.joelin.cc listed 30 NICOPA branches with photo sticker booths based on manufacturers’ installation-location data. The two lists use different criteria, so check the official store page before setting out.

Is nico ground in “NICOPA & nico ground” a photo sticker area?

No. nico ground is カーゾック’s combined-format indoor playground business, emphasizing cardboard and wooden play equipment for children to use indoors. “NICOPA & nico ground” is the name used when these two business formats share a location. It has no connection to photo sticker photography.

Can you borrow costumes at NICOPA to dress up for photo stickers?

No information was found. Neither カーゾック’s official website nor its store pages mention costume rentals, makeup stations, curling irons, or changing rooms. Instead, NICOPA’s website marks family facilities such as diaper-changing stations, nursing rooms, and stroller parking for each store. For venues offering costume rentals for photos, see the list of costume photo sticker venues in Japan on photobooth.joelin.cc.

Sources: カーゾック’s official website（Company Profile, History, KARZOC Story, Get to Know the Company, Family Amusement Business, Combined-Format Indoor Playground Business, and Play Locations and Facilities Directory）; カーゾック’s January 20, 2026, press release（Relocating Headquarters Functions to Nagoya）; カーゾック’s April 2, 2026, press release（Acquisition of Shares in 近畿総合システム販売）; the August 31, 2026, press release（Announcement Regarding the Executive Structure）; successive versions of the official company profile, archived by the Internet Archive（July 2021, October 2021, June 2022, December 2023, March 2025, and November 2025）; the NICOPA Official App Introduction Page; and the Japan data layer of this site’s photobooth.joelin.cc database. Information was checked on September 24–25, 2026.

Images: The photographs and corporate identity image in this article come from the 株式会社カーゾック press kit. They are published under its usage rules with the required attribution: https://www.karzoc.co.jp/contact/company/. This article is an independent third-party compilation. There is no collaboration with カーゾック, and the content does not represent the company’s views.

Article keywords: NICOPA, ニコパ, カーゾック, KARZOC, nico ground, family arcades in Japan, Japanese arcades, Japanese photo sticker booths, purikura, Nagoya, 東海ランド